Project: High School
by Lemonly
Summary: The Glee Project. Nellie is perfectly content with singing back-up and swaying in the background, until New Directions decides that it's her time to shine.
1. Introduction

Welcome to William McKinley High School, in the center of Lima, Ohio. My name's Nellie Vanderbilt, sophomore, member of the glee club, and the eyes and ears of this school. I see and hear everything that happens to everyone, that's one of the only perks of being a wallflower, of being invisible in high school. It's my job to introduce you to the twenty-six most relevant people in this story. Walk with me.

Samuel Lincoln, a sophomore, is the captain of the glee club, New Directions. Despite his hippie-like appearance, he's very strong in his faith. He's a genuinely good guy and a good friend of mine. Principal Figgins calls him Teen Jesus, and the name suits him, though he'll never admit it. He never wears shoes and is constantly avoiding Figgins, hence why he gets away with it.

Ali Stokes, on the other hand, is someone to be avoided at all costs. Thankfully, she's a senior, but she has quite the following of girls vying to take her place as the High Bitch in Charge, or HBC. She's one of the reason that I like being invisible. But she's not just a bitch, it's more of a façade. She puts up the act because she's insecure about being in a wheelchair. But don't tell her I said that.

There's Damian O'Connor, Cameron Thurman, and Hannah McDonald. Their freshmen and best friends. Well, Damian and Cameron are best friends, practically brothers. Hannah's obvious crush on Damian kind of puts a strain on their friendship once in a while. Damian's family moved here from Ireland when he was six. Why they moved to Lima, I have no idea. He lives next door to Cameron , and so their friendship was born. I don't think they have ever been separated. Hannah came into their lives when she moved to Lima in third grade, and that's when her crush on Damian started. Cameron is also very close to Samuel due to their shared strong faith. They're members of the New Directions.

Emily Rodriguez, Lindsay Grass, and Aylin Mendula are the three most feared girls in McKinley. Unlike Ali, who just uses her vicious words to knock you down, these three will attempt to ruin your life if you piss them off. Emily's a junior this year, and had taken Lindsay and Aylin under her wing their freshman year. The three are Cheerios, cheerleader, the queens of the school. Lindsey's family is one of the most influential families in Lima. She lives in a gated community and reminds everyone "below" her that she is better than them because of this. Aylin comes from a devote Muslim family, though you can't tell by looking at her. Her parents don't know that she's a cheerio. In fact, she changes into her uniform when she gets to school. The three girls enjoy being able to jerk their designated boy toys around.

Alex Orwell. He's not the only openly gay kid in the school, but he's the only one who flaunts his sexuality, often dressing in drag. He's a freshman this year and made it onto the football team's Most Wanted list his first day of high school, resulting in a slushie facial once a day, at least. He's in glee, but his ego makes him one of the hardest to get along with. He tends to think that he's the star of New Directions.

Marissa van Bleak, the ginger goddess. A junior, she quickly caught the eye of Cameron, enjoying that the boy had a huge crush on her, often taking advantage of him. While she likes being the object of Cameron's affections, she only has eyes for Charlie, who I'll get to in a minute. She's the only girl who Emily and her posse seem to respect. That's probably because the girl is as manipulative as the best of them.

McKynleigh Adams and Taryn Davis. Seniors and the belters of New Directions. They are two of the nicest girls in the school. They've been best friends since they were born, literally, they have the same birthday. They're, also, two of the only people who are willing to stand up to Emily's posse. These girls are definitely the ones to go to if you need help with anything. They were offered the captaincy of New Directions, but gave it to Samuel instead, knowing that he would not let the position go to his head. Needless to say, they are my favorite seniors.

Bryce Jonasson and Maxfield Casst are seniors and on the football team. Both are the kings of the school; both are Emily's boy toys and both are oblivious to that. They're the cause of a majority of the slushies and the torment inflicted upon New Directions. They're actually pretty nice, but they tend to hide that. A majority of the school are counting down the days until they graduate.

That's Matheus Ferris, junior. He's got a bad attitude, he enjoys ruining people's day more than life itself. Same as Ali, his bad attitude is more to cover up his insecurity at his height. He tends to focus his negativity toward New Directions for a reason that I have yet to discern, though I think it has to do with Shanna and the fact that she keeps turning him down.

Over there, that Ellis West. She's a senior with a massive crush on Matheus. She's in New Directions and has more energy than anyone I've ever met. Ellis is the target of a lot of Matheus' negative comments. Why she likes him, I have no idea. She has a very unique style and, along with Alex, enjoy trashing other people's outfits. Other than that, she can be very sweet.

Abraham and Tyler Lin, their adoptive brothers. Abraham's super friendly, he kind of like my gay best friend. Tyler is transgendered and is very self conscious because of it. They're both in New Directions and they're two of the nicest guys in the school. Abraham is a senior and Tyler is a junior. They've never been apart and I don't know what they'll do without each other next year.

Lily Mae Harris and Mario Brady are the two seniors of New Directions that I can't wait for them to graduate. They have the mentality that they're better than the rest of the club. Mr. Schue, our glee director, thinks that their attitudes are their attempts to cover up their insecurities-Lily Mae's weight and Mario's blindness-but I think that they just act that way because they think no one will stand up to them.

That's Charlie Lewis, he's a sophomore and Aylin's boy toy. He's head over heels for her, but she could care less about him unless, of course, another girl starts to pay attention to him. He's very ADD and he needs to learn to think before he says or does stuff; but other than that he's a good guy, part of New Directions.

But the three coolest people in William McKinley High School are Blake James, Michael Weston, Shanna Hennison, and Dani Stewart. They are my four best friends in the entire world. Blake and Michael are my next door neighbors, I've known them my whole life; Dani, I met in kindergarten and we instantly clicked; and Shanna, I met when her family moved her from Alabama in fourth grade. Dani will always be my best girlfriend. She knows everything about me and I know everything about her; we have no secrets. I was the first person she came out to in eight grade and she was the first person who I told about my crush on Blake in third grade. Shanna is a ray of sunshine. She's always happy and smiling. She's probably the nicest person in McKinley. She hates disappointing people and feels incredibly guilt every time she turns Matheus down. Michael is an adorable math geek. He could go on for hours about the subject. He actually has before; me and Blake had to throw pillows at him to shut him up. He has a slight crush on Shanna, though I think it's bigger than he lets me know; Shanna's feelings toward him are unknown, she's likes to keep that stuff to herself until she knows for sure that's how she feels. And Blake, wonderful, funny Blake, _my_ Blake. No words can describe how wonderful he is. He asked me out in eight grade and he became my official boyfriend halfway through the summer before our freshman year. He's such a nice, genuine guy. They're all sophomores, like me, and are also members of the glee club.

So, there you go. There's the twenty-six most relevant people to this tale of McKinley high school.


	2. Chapter 1

Nellie groaned as she walked down the stairs to the kitchen of the large house. Absentmindedly, she crumpled up the note that her parents had left informing her that they would be gone for two weeks for various business meetings. Throwing the note away she started the coffee maker and went to get the newspaper from outside.

"Hey, Nells." Blake greeted as she reentered the house, causing the girl to jump and let out a little squeak in surprise.

"Don't do that!" Nellie replied with a glare.

Her frown quickly turned into a smile as he handed her a large cup of the coffee hat had finished brewing. After taking a sip, she smiled and kissed his cheek, "Good morning."

Blake laughed at the quick changed and replied, "Morning."

"Where's Mi-"

She didn't need to finish the sentence as Michael walked in the front door, "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. James."

Nellie just rolled her eyes, downing the rest of her coffee, "I'm going to go take a shower."

"Maybe I should join you?" Blake replied, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Nellie just laughed in response and headed back up the stairs. Once she was out of sight, Blake pulled out the groceries he had hidden and began to make the surprise breakfast for Nellie.

Michael just laughed and began helping him.

Thirty minutes later, they had finished and Nellie walked back down the stairs to see Blueberry French Toast, Scrambled Eggs with Cheese and Bacon, and Orange Juice sitting on the table. She smiled at the two boys before sitting down.

"So," Nellie finally said, "What's the occasion?"

"Do I need a special occasion to make my beautiful girlfriend her favorite breakfast?" Blake asked, seemingly offended.

"Yes." Nellie laughed, "You hate cooking."

"My mom told me your parents left last night again." Blake confessed, "So I got up early and went shopping."

"Thank you, Blake." Nellie smiled softly and kissed his cheek.

"I helped too." Michael piped up, not liking that Blake took all of the credit.

Nellie laughed and thanked Michael as well.

As Nellie was clearing the table Dani walked into the house, shortly followed by Shanna. Dani quickly grabbed Nellie and pulled her up the stairs without a word.

"What was that about?" Michael asked as Shanna poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"I don't know." Shanna replied, "Some kind of emergency, no doubt."

"Dani! You cannot be serious right now!" Nellie's voice traveled through the house. It was followed by the excited squeals of the two girls.

The two girls ran back down the stairs, hands clasped together, still giddy; their smiles nearly splitting their faces in two.

"Oh, no." Blake groaned, seeing them. Those smiles usually meant that he was going to lose a night Nellie. That, paired with the squeals, he was betting on losing the weekend with Nellie.

"What?" Nellie laughed, pulling her backpack on.

"Nothing." Blake shrugged, picking up his backpack as well.

Nellie just rolled her eyes as the five friends headed out to Nellie's jeep; and, after the usual fight over shotgun between Blake and Dani, the group headed to school, Dani sticking her tongue out at Blake who was in the back seat between Michael and Shanna. Nellie laughed and turned up the radio.

The rest of the ride was uneventful and, soon enough, she was pulling into her parking spot. Getting out of the car, Blake immediately took his girlfriend's hand, leading the group into William McKinley High School, before separating to go to their lockers.

"What are you so excited about?" Nellie asked, giving Michael, who was bouncing up and down as he "patiently" waited for Nellie to get the necessary books from her locker, a weird look.

"We're learning about advanced functions of-" Michael started to say but was cut off when they heard Ali's voice down the hall.

The two quickly hid Nellie from view, as they always had so she could retain her invisibility, until the blonde passed them.

"Thanks." she muttered, closing her locker.

"You have to get over this invisibility thing you have going." Michael sighed.

"I'm sorry I don't want to make myself a target." Nellie rolled her eyes, "No what were you excited about."

Michael quickly picked up the one-sided conversation about what would be covered in his math class that day, while Blake casually took Nellie's books and hand as they began to follow Michael to their English class.

!

Samuel stood in front of the piano, facing New Directions, mentally preparing himself for the reactions from the rest of the club.

"Mr. Schue and I have come to an agreement on Regionals, the songs and soloists." Samuel began, "We decided to cover Avril Lavigne songs. It's something that no other groups have covered, ever. We also decided that our main soloists should be someone that the club tends to 'neglect'. So, Nellie, we would like you to be our star."

"What?!" Lily Mae exclaimed, "The mouse? Seriously?!"

"Hey!" Shanna exclaimed, as Nellie gripped Blake's hand tightly, effectively cutting off all other complaints.

"What do you say?" Samuel smiled at Nellie, knowing that she wouldn't be able to say no to him, "It's time for you to step out of the shadows."

"Okay." Nellie squeaked.

"Excellent!" Samuel clapped his hands together and rocked on the balls of his feet.

Seeing Lily Mae and Mario about to argue, Schue stepped in, "If you want to voice any complains, I suggest you wait until you can speak to just me."

When no one made a further move to argue, Schue continued, "Nellie, congratulations. You'll meet with me and Samuel after school on Monday to help us put together the set list."

Nellie nodded, still unable to come up with the words due to her shock.

Even when the bell rang, she remained seated in her chair.

Smiling, Dani pulled her up and dragged her out the door. Smiling, the other three followed close behind.


	3. Chapter 2

"So, what are the plans for tonight?" Michael asked as the group took their seats at lunch.

"I have work 'til 6:30." Shanna said with a groan. She hated her job. She worked at Breadstix and Emily and her posse always came in after practice on Fridays.

"Me and Nellie have plans after school." Dani replied with a secretive smile.

"And what are these plans?" Blake laughed, stealing a fry off of Nellie's tray.

"We're going to the mall." Nellie replied with a smirk.

"You hate going to the mall." Shanna pointed out to the two girls, raising her eyebrows at the best friends.

"Yes," Dani nodded, "but, Sasha works at The Gap, and The Gap is at the mall; therefore, in order for me to see Sasha, I have to go to the mall."

"So, you're stalking this poor girl." Michael replied, "And you're dragging Nellie into it."

"No." Nellie immediately replied, "She just wants me to meet a possible girlfriend."

"You'll have her back by seven, Lover Boy." Dani rolled her eyes at the lost expression on Blake's face.

"You're going to spend three hours at the mall stalking this Sasha girl?" Blake blinked, unbelievingly.

"Among other things, yes." Dani smirked, "You'll just have to find a way to amuse yourself."

Blake grumbled to himself and continued to pick food off of his girlfriend's plate. Nellie rolled her eyes playfully at his reaction as Shanna changed the subject.

"So, how does it feel to be the new star of New Directions?" Shanna asked with a smile.

"I don't know." Nellie replied honestly, "It hasn't really sunk in, yet, you know?"

"Well, I think we should celebrate." Michael replied.

"That's not necessary." Nellie blushed, trying to sink into the chair she was sitting in.

"Yes, it is!" Dani exclaimed, "Samuel _and_ Schue picked YOU! This is big!"

"It's tiny." Nellie tried to argue.

"Nells," Blake took her hand, "this is pretty big."

Nellie bit her lip, but didn't argue. Instead, she opted to say, "I still can't believe it. I mean, there are other people in glee that are more talented than me."

"Not true!" Blake immediately replied, earning a laugh from Nellie.

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Michael restated his question from earlier

!

Nellie and Dani arrived back at Nellie's house at exactly seven o'clock, just like Dani had promised. Entering the large house, they quickly ran up the stairs to Nellie's room, ignoring the greetings from Blake, Michael, and Shanna.

"Quick," Dani held out the pink bag, "where can we hide this so he won't see it?"

"See what?" Blake asked, coming to stand in the doorway.

"Nothing!" Dani and Nellie exclaimed, Dani tossing the bag haphazardly into the closet and shutting the door while Nellie blushed deeply.

"You know I'll find out anyway." he responded cheekily.

"Come on, let's order a pizza." Nellie pulled Blake from the room and back down the stairs.

"Yeah," Dani continued, "let's get our celebration on!"

Blake let Dani pass, before he pulled Nellie back up the stairs and into her room. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around her and asked, "So, what _were_ you hiding?"

"It's nothing, really." Nellie replied, blushing again, "Just some stuff Dani decided that I needed to buy."

"Normally, I would believe you." Blake replied, "But 'nothing' doesn't make you turn red."

With that, Blake headed toward the closet, Nellie half-heartedly attempting to stop him, and pulled out the pink bag.

"Nellie Vanderbilt!" Blake smirked, playfully, "You purchased something from Victoria's Secret?"

Nellie snatched the bag out of his hands before he could open it, "You can't see it."

"Why not?" Blake laughed.

"It's supposed to be a surprise." Nellie pouted.

"For me?" genuine shock covering Blake's face, hope glittering in his eyes.

"No, for Michael!" Nellie rolled her eyes, "Yes, for you. Now, let's go downstairs."

Blake grabbed Nellie as she tried to walk past him and kissed her passionately.

"What was that for?" Nellie asked, her eyes shining as she pulled him toward her bed, forgetting about their friends downstairs.

"You bought something from Victoria's Secret for me." Blake smiled, "And, I love you."

"I love you, too." Nellie smiled, kissing Blake again.

Twenty minutes later, Michael walked into the room, "That's enough, you two. Pizza's here."

Blake smiled down at Nellie before kissing her one last time, and the couple headed down the stairs.

"So, are you going to tell us more about this Sasha chick now that Nellie met her?" Michael asked, turning his attention to Dani after taking a slice of one of the many pizzas.

"I met her at a coffeehouse and we just clicked." Dani replied, obviously not planning on continuing.

"UNFORTUNATELY," Nellie continued for her best friend, "Sasha is, apparently, not a nice person. Like a mix of Ali and Emily not a nice person."

"But that's okay because I'm pretty sure it was the coffeehouse magic that made her seem so appealing." Dani added, seeing the pitying looks the other three were about to send her. Smiling, she said, "Nellie made up for the disappointment, though."

At that, Nellie's face reddened again and Blake wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her temple, laughing.


	4. Chapter 3

The next day, Nellie awoke snuggled in Blake's arms. Smiling, she turned in his arms to face him only to see him already awake and smiling at her.

"Creeper." she laughed, snuggling further into him.

"Good morning, beautiful." Blake replied, kissing her sweetly.

"Morning." Nellie smiled sleepily, before getting out of bed, laughing at the sad look on her boyfriend's face as he looked at the spot that she had vacated.

She left the room to begin making coffee and breakfast; she was soon joined by Blake who was pulling a fresh shirt over his head.

"Did you really sleep in that last night?" Blake asked, looking at her pajamas for the first time.

Nellie laughed as she looked down at her pjs. She stood there in one of his old shirts and a pair of his basketball shorts that she had stolen. She smiled and said, "It's what I wear every night."

"I've slept over here numerous times, how have I not noticed this." he laughed before beginning to help her with the traditional Saturday morning breakfast.

It was one of the many traditions of the small group of friends. Nellie made breakfast on Saturdays and then, on Sundays, they had a potluck brunch. They started this in sixth grade, when Nellie's parents first began their extended business trips.

"So, what are we making?" Blake asked, picking up the whisk that sat on the counter and twirling it.

"Cinnamon Roll Pancakes." Nellie replied, taking the whisk from him before he could drop it, "And if you're going to play with this, make yourself useful."

With that, she pointing to the ingredients to make her special scrambled eggs.

"Fine." Blake sighed playfully, before going to the other side of the kitchen to begin to chop up the peppers, onions, garlic, and potatoes that would be going into the eggs.

"Ah, and we find Nellie Vanderbilt and Blake James in their natural state of domestic bliss. One can only count down the days until the wedding bells ring." Michael made his presence known, walking into the house through the back door, "Smells delicious."

"Good morning, Michael." Nellie laughed as he seemed to automatically go to help Blake with chopping the veggies.

Finishing with the pancakes, Nellie grabbed the eggs and a giant bowl and began to get the egg mixture prepared. She cracked the eggs before adding milk, salt, pepper, a special spice mixture, gouda cheese, and then threw in the chopped veggies and mixed them together before pouring the mixture into the hot skillet as the boys set the table.

"I'm gonna have to eat and run today." Shanna sat as she walked into the kitchen with Dani as Nellie slid the eggs onto a platter, "I got scheduled to work today."

"You never work on weekends." Dani said, taking the platter from Nellie and setting it down in the middle of the table.

"I know, Christy messed up the schedule, I guess," Shanna nodded, "but I'll be back here by four."

"Good," Michael replied, "because it's game night, which means we get to have fun making Nellie embarrass herself."

"Why is that anyway?" Nellie asked, sitting down next to Blake, who was filling her plate up for her.

"You're just an easy target." Blake replied, kissing her cheek.

"I hate you all." Nellie responded, rolling her eyes.

The rest of the group just laughed and the topic changed to the Regionals set list.

"So, what songs do you want to do?" Dani asked, looking over at Nellie.

"I don't know." she replied, "I really want to do two of her new songs, 'Smile' and 'I Love You', but at the same time her old stuff would be more recognizable, like 'Complicated', 'Skater Boy', and 'My Happy Ending'. I guess I'll just have to see what Schue and Samuel have planned."

"You'll probably get one of the songs you want to do." Shanna replied, "I mean, you're singing lead."

"True." Nellie nodded slowly, "But I don't want to make it all about me."

"And we know you won't." Blake replied, taking half of her serving of eggs off of her plate and onto his.

"Just don't let Lily Mae or Mario overshadow you." Michael continued, laughing as Nellie playfully hit Blake when she noticed what he had done.

"I gotta run, guys." Shanna said, glancing down at her watch and standing up, "I'll be back as soon as my shift ends."

"Okay." Nellie replied, "Someone will be here regardless of whether I'm here or not."

"Yeah," Michael laughed, "Blake's planning on taking her over to his house so that he can get his fix before he's forced to share her again."

Blake just stuck his tongue out as Nellie's face darkened.

!

"He is such a disgusting, little, UG!" Shanna exclaimed, walking into Nellie's house at 4:15, slamming the front door behind her. Storming up the stairs to Nellie's room, she opened the door, pulling Blake off of the bed, and pushed the boy out the room. She waited for Dani (who had arrived with Michael as Shanna was getting out of her car) to enter before closing the door again, effectively wiping the dazed look that always appeared whenever she and Blake got a little heated off of Nellie's face.

"What happened?" Nellie asked, sitting up and trying to make it look like Blake hadn't been about to see what Dani had made her buy the previous day.

"Matheus changed the schedule so that I would be working the same shift as him." Shanna replied, pacing aggitatively, "The creep. God, why can't he just take a hint!?"

"Well, you haven't really been that forceful with him." Dani replied. When Nellie glared at her, she continued, "Well, she hasn't!"

"I think what Dani is _trying_ to say is that you haven't really been very forceful when you turn him down." Nellie said, choosing her words very carefully, "I mean, I'm _not_ saying it's your fault that he's being a creep to you, but, maybe, next time you should just say no, that you're not interested him."

"Yeah." Dani replied, "You could even make up a boyfriend as an excuse so you won't feel as guilty."

"You guys know I suck at lying." Shanna responded, finally calmed down and sinking down on the bed on the other side of Nellie.

"Then get someone to pose as your boyfriend." Dani shrugged, "Someone who knows you, who respects you, who could easily pass as a boyfriend."

"Someone like Michael." Nellie continued, smiling to herself.

"Are you sure this will work?" Shanna replied, looking unsure.

"Trust me." Nellie replied with a smile, "Michael can _easily_ play the boyfriend who's crazy about you."

"I guess I'll take your word for it." Shanna laughed, smiling brightly, "After all, you know best."

"So…" Dani changed the subject, sharing a sly smile with Shanna.

"What were you and Blake up to when I got up here?" Shanna laughed as Nellie turned bright red and began stuttering.

"You've got a couple…" Dani squinted, pointing out the numerous, but small, love bites that covered Nellie's neck.

Nellie squeaked before running downstairs to yell at Blake, only to have him kiss her and make her forget why she needed to yell at him anyway.

"By the way," Nellie turned to Michael, "you and Shana are dating."

"Okay." Michael shrugged as Shanna sat down next to him and Dani took her usual seat at Nellie's feet.

!

"UG!" Dani groaned, walking into the high school on Tuesday morning.

"What?" Shanna laughed as Dani opened her locker.

"I hate my life!"

"Stop being so melodramatic."

"No! I won't!" Dani replied with a smile, "Have you heard from Nellie?"

It was odd for Nellie to go a day without talking to either of the girls and neither had heard from her since they left her house Sunday night.

"Michael said she was sick, but I don't think that's the case." Shanna shook her head.

Before either could say anything, Nellie walked past them, followed by Blake and Michael. The girls quickly fell into step with them.

"What-?" Dani tried to ask, but was pulled, along with Shanna, into an empty classroom by Michael.

"Her parents." Michael replied, closing the door, "They're not planning on coming home anytime soon. They would rather spend three months in Asia than see their daughter for a day."

The girls could tell that Michael was pissed, understandable so, when Dani asked, "How is she?"

"She hasn't really talked since she got off the phone with them." Michael looked down, obviously upset, "She hasn't even smiled."

"Poor, Nellie." Shanna replied.

Before either could say anything else, Dani left the room and hugged Nellie tightly; her best friend clinging to her tightly. Shanna joined the hug once she caught up to Dani.

"Oh, how cute." a sickly-sweet voice snidely cooed.

Pulling out of the hug, they saw Emily standing there, flanked Lindsey and Aylin.

"What do you want?" Dani glared at the group of girls.

"Just to let Nellie here know that her time as the invisible girl is over." Emily sneered, "As the new star of New Directions, she just became the number one target."

With that, the three girls walked down the hall and Nellie squeaked before running off.

"Nellie!" Blake yelled, running after her, followed by Michael.

"What should we do?" Shanna asked Dani, who was also torn between following Nellie and trying to find a way to get Emily to back off.

"We let the guys help Nellie." Dani said, after her inner struggle was over, "They're going to be the only ones who will be able to."

"What should we do?"

"We give Nellie all of our support and love. That's all we can do."

Shanna nodded and the two girls headed to their first class.

!

Later that day, the glee club sat in the choir room. As soon as Schue entered the room, Dani raised her hand.

"Yes, Dani?" Schue smiled.

"I have a song I'd like to sing." Dani replied, standing up and walking to the front of the room, nodding subtly to Shanna, Michael, and Blake, who's hand Nellie had had a vice grip on all day. Dani then smiled at Nellie, "Nellie, you are my best friend and I have always trusted you with my secrets because I know you would never judge me. You have always been there to pull me out of that dark place, so I'm gonna be there for you; to finally return the favor."

"Nellie," Shanna continued, standing to join Dani, "You were the first person to talk to me when I first moved here, you were my first friend, and you introduced me to the coolest group of people I have ever met. You are our glue, whether you know it or not. We have you to thank for everything. You're our sounding board, our advisor, our tutor, our best friend. I have you to thank for being able to actually call Lima home."

"Nell," Michael picked up, joining the girls, "I have known you my whole life. You're the coolest person I know. I feel what you feel, and I know that you feel the same. I would do anything for you. You're my best friend, a mind-reader. You know what's on my mind without me actually having to tell you anything; you're scary that way. But I wouldn't have you any other way. You're parents have no idea what they're missing."

Blake knelt down in front of Nellie, keeping eye contact with her during his whole mini-speech, "Nels, I love you, so much. It pains me to see you so sad. You are my best friend in the entire world. I don't know what I would do without you. You're parents should be proud of the woman their little girl has become, I know mine are. I would go to the ends of the earth to see you smile, to make you happy."

Nellie gave a barely there smile, which disappeared as Blake slowly let go of her hand, replaced by understanding (and a slight blush) as the intro to one of her favorite songs began.

"Darling," Dani began, pulling Nellie up, "You're hiding in the closet once again, start smiling."

"I know you're trying real hard not to turn your head away." Shanna took over, laughing as Nellie blushed, unable to hide her small smile.

"Pretty darling, face tomorrow, tomorrow is not yesterday, yesterday oh oooooh." Michael, took Nellie's hand and spun her around, before hugging her tightly.

"Pretty please, I know it's a drag. Wipe your eyes and put up your head. I wish you could be happy instead. There's nothing else I can do, but love you the best that I can. Yeah yeah yeah yeah" Blake pulled Nellie close to him as he sang the chorus, swaying with her, his smiling growing as hers grew.

"Darling," Michael took Nellie's hands and lifted her up onto the piano, hopping up and taking a seat next to her, "I was there once a while ago."

"I know," Blake stepped between Nellie's legs and laced their fingers together, squeezing his girlfriend's hands, "That it's hard to be stuck with people that you love when nobody trusts."

"Pretty please," Dani pulled Nellie off of the piano and the two girls did the dance they had made up when they were five, Shanna join Dani on the rest of the chorus, "I know it's a drag. Wipe your eyes and put up your head. I wish you could be happy instead. There's nothing else I can do but love you the best that I can. Yeah yeah yeah yeah."

"You're not the only one who's been through." Michael and Blake stole her away from the girls, circling around her, "I've been there alone and now so are you. I just want you to know, want you to know it's not your fault."

"It's not your fault." Shanna forced Nellie to look at her as she sang, "Your fault, your fault. It's not your fault, your fault, your fault, your fault."

"Pretty please," Michael picked Nellie up and spun her around, "I know it's a drag. Wipe your eyes and put up your head. I wish you could be happy instead. There's nothing else I can do but love you the best that I can. Yeah yeah yeah yeah."

"Pretty please," Shanna stole her back, smiling brightly, "I know it's a drag. Wipe your eyes and put up your head. I wish you could be happy instead. There's nothing else I can do but love you the best that I can. Yeah yeah yeah yeah."

"Darling," Dani slowed the song down, placing her hands on Nellie's shoulders before hugging the girl tightly, "You're hiding in the closet once again. Start smiling."

As the song ended, the rest of the small group gathered around the two girls, hugging them and giving Nellie as much of their strength as she would take.


End file.
